Read some of the stories shared by our volunteers and staff members.
“After working from home for a many weeks, my colleague, Jennifer and I institued a plan to provide immigration services remotely. We utilize Zoom for virtual appointments with our clients. At face value, it sounds easy, however, there are many procedural, technical and ethical components that we have had to work out. I miss work, the routine, seeing everyone and having a client in front of me. I know we will all get through this though, I am a firm believer that you can turn a negative event into a positive, if you learn something from it. We will come back from this better than we were before.”
Jennifer C. Supervisor, Immigration Services
“Soon after the Governor’s stay at home order was issued, I received a call from one of our Ecumenical Kitchen, EK, volunteers who was concerned and frustrated about a number of things. It gave me a chance to listen. Many seniors were anxious and worried about possible exposure to the virus and this volunteer expressed concern about the people served at EK. I was reminded that the EK is an important part of the lives of our volunteers.
We talked a while about the EK. She told me she had taken a food collection the previous weekend at her parish and her trunk was now completely full. She was 79 years old and knew she should not be going out into the community but she desperately wanted to help the homeless and those who needed it! We arranged to meet her at her home for a “contactless”pickup. She remotely opened her trunk, waved and we took the food to the EK. Thank you to her and the parishioners of Immaculate Conception Parish.”
Bob Olney, Community Outreach Administrator